


To Put The World To Rights

by monkiainen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Quantum Leap
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen, HP Time Travel Fest 2016, Things Going Horribly Wrong, Time Travel Fix-It, Time Travelling Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 10:19:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10683303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monkiainen/pseuds/monkiainen
Summary: Harry is determined to bring Sirius back from the dead. When he hears about the mysterious Quantum Leap project, Harry wants to know more about it.





	To Put The World To Rights

_He watched helplessly as Sirius was falling, falling, falling… He screamed for his name, but there was no answer, only silence. Sirius couldn't be gone, he couldn't. He had to be alive, and this was just some stupid trick, like the ones on the telly. But Sirius never came back, and Harry was all alone in the world again…_

Harry woke up with a start. Damn it. Not that dream again. It was ten years since that fateful night at the Ministry, and he still hadn't been able to let go of the guilt that was eating him. How stupid he had been at the age of 15, thinking that he knew it all and he could survive without help? Now that the whole Voldemort thing was in the past, Harry was wiser. There were certain things he should have done differently to save Sirius, but what could he do? Nothing.

Or at least that's what he thought.

* * *

"Hullo Harry! Did you already read about that new Muggle invention about time travel?" Arthur Weasley greeted Harry enthusiastically when they passed each other at the canteen.

"Wait… what? Did you say time travel and Muggles? In one sentence? Are you sure you're not mixing things up, like you did after that Doctor Who episode?" Harry asked disbelievingly. Words such as _"Muggles"_ and _"time travel"_ just didn't fit into one sentence, unless it was either a sci fi series or a movie. For a moment Arthur had been dead set that the old police boxes in London were in fact disguised TARDISes and had been very disappointed to learn that The Doctor wasn't real _("But he is such an awesome man, and we could all learn so much from him, in terms of acceptance and kindness!")_ So it was with a reason he didn't take Arthur seriously with sentences like that, even though he loved the man dearly.

"No, but it's true Harry, look! I have the evidence here!" Arthur exclaimed, waving a number of _Physics World_ in his hand. "There is this American scientist called Sam Beckett who developed something called Quantum Leap and has done a bit of time travelling himself! Just read it!" Arthur all but shoved the magazine to Harry's hands, before moving to greet some other of his many acquaintances. Harry sighed and stuffed the magazine into his duffel bag – he could deal with it later.

* * *

_"Harry, why didn't you save me? Harry, I need you to help me… will you listen to me?"_

Harry woke in a cold sweat, shivering. The dream had been so real… as if Sirius was really alive and begging Harry to help him. Harry walked to the kitchen and put the kettle on – the tea would calm his nerves as it always did. With a warm cup in his hand, Harry wandered aimlessly around the house until he ended up in the study. He almost stumbled to his duffel bag, and when he went to pick it up Harry noticed the blasted magazine Arthur had been talking about peeking from the inside.

What the hell. He wasn't going to sleep anymore, so he might as well read the stupid story about the supposed time travel. With that in mind, Harry settled to his favourite chair and began reading, his tea slowly cooling in his mug when he immersed to the article in hand.

It was nearly dawn by the time Harry was finished with his reading, and his mind was spinning. It couldn't be… but how… he had to go to America as soon as possible! He might still have some holiday days left, and even if he didn't, he could always use the "Boy Who Lived" card to get him some time off from the Auror department. Yes, that was it. He was going to find Sam Beckett and talk to him.

With that in mind, Harry dressed and Floo'ed to work. He had some business to take care of.

* * *

A week later Harry was standing in the middle of the desert somewhere in New Mexico. Apparently Beckett had a secret laboratory somewhere around here, but as much as Harry tried to find it, he couldn't. Strange. It was almost like he was a Muggle trying to find Hogwarts.

Wait… could it be? What if the secret laboratory was Unplottable, like Grimmauld Place? And he couldn't find it because he wasn't being told the exact location? But that would mean… that Beckett was a Wizard? Or someone else he worked with. Damn it. Now he would have to contact the local Ministry to find out the truth about Beckett, and he had wished his visit to America would remain a secret. Now such luck then, so Harry did what he could and Apparated to the nearest Floo Station with a connection to Washington D.C.

The personnel at the local Ministry of Magic were more than helpful, up until Harry mentioned the name "Sam Beckett". It was almost like he had spoken Voldemort's name during the war, because suddenly everyone started avoiding him and all but kicked him out. That only confirmed Harry's suspicion that Beckett was indeed a Wizard like him, and for some reason he wasn't exactly popular with the Ministry. Just his luck. Now what? Harry wasn't going to give up that easily, but he was really running low with the options. Unless…

The next day Harry started calling around, pretending to be a journalist who wanted to interview Sam Beckett about his Quantum Leap theory. One person told him to call the Pentagon; the Pentagon said he should talk the senators running the committee behind the project; the senators shut him down. It looked like it was a dead end, and Harry was starting to get frustrated.

"Hey kiddo, why do you want to talk to Sam so much? And put the wand down, I don’t want to explain to my wife why I got cursed again."

Harry lowered his wand, looking disbelievingly the older man standing in his hotel room. From his words Harry could guess he was someone connected to the Project Quantum Leap, but who was he?

"Look kid, trust me when I say this, you don't want to get involved in this. Go home, start a family and stop thinking about time travel. Name's Al, by the way" the stranger continued, lighting a cigar.

"And what if I want to know how I can time travel as well? And what if I want to get involved? I want to save my godfather from dying, do you understand?" Harry demanded, frustrated.

Al sighed, looking suddenly much older than his years. "Look, it doesn't work like that. You might be able to jump back in time to the moment you want to, but you might not remember what you were about to change. Heck, even Sam doesn't remember most of the time who he is and what he has done, and he's a super-genius. Just let it be, okay?"

"But he's a Wizard, too, isn't he? That's why you knew I was holding a wand, right? And your laboratory is Unplottable which is why I couldn't find it, and for some reason your Ministry of Magic doesn't like Sam very much, and I just want to get rid of the nightmares and…" Harry stopped, realising he had said more than he wanted. What was he, a child? They were just nightmares, and he could deal with them on his own.

"That information is classified, so technically I'm not supposed to tell you anything. But yes, Sam's a Wizard, and pretty darn good one if I say so myself. Be ready at 5 AM sharp, someone will come and get you to the laboratory. Now good night", Al said, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts. Now he just had to plan how he was going to save Sirius from dying.

* * *

"Good morning sunshine! It's time to get up!" someone chirped way too perkily besides his bed. Harry groaned, and opened his eyes, only to discover a young woman standing in his hotel room and looking way too alert.

"My name is Sammy Jo, and I'll be your guide for the day. Put some clothes on and we're ready to go", the young woman with brown hair said chirpily. Harry complied, and he was all ready to go in ten minutes.

"Drink this, please" Sammy Jo said, offering Harry a vial with lilac potion inside.

"What's that?" Harry eyed the vial warily. This better not be some sort of a trick.

"Basic Sleeping Draught. Our location is classified, so I'm afraid you need to drink this before I can transport you there. Either you drink this, or I will perform a Memory Charm on you and you will forget that this conversation ever happened. Your choice" Sammy Jo stated.

Harry sighed, and gulped down the contents of the vial in one go. Soon he could feel his eyes getting heavy, and in a matter of minutes he was fast asleep.

Harry had no idea how much time had passed between drinking the potion and waking up, but it felt like he had been sleeping for days. The… laboratory, or whatever it was, where he woke up, was dimly lit and full of all kinds of technical instruments Harry had no idea of what they were about.

"Good, you're awake."

Harry turned to see Sammy Jo standing in the doorway, wearing a lab coat. This was it. Now he could right the wrongs and save Sirius.

"What is your destination?"

"Death Chamber, Department of Mysteries, Ministry of Magic, Whitehall, London, England… and the date is June 18th, 1996" Harry whispered, his voice quivering.

"Remember, you don't have an effect on who you're going to jump into, so don't do any specific plans until you know who you are. Then you can deduce what you should do differently as that person to affect the previous outcome. There are still no guarantees that things will work the way you want them to work out, so don't get your hopes up too soon. And for the record, you can only do this once, no reruns no matter the outcome. Are you ready?" Sammy Jo asked, looking Harry straight into his eyes.

Harry nodded, and prepared for the worst. Who knows, he might end up in Voldemort's skin and how icky that would be. But if he could save Sirius by doing this, then he really had no other choice. Time to get rid of the nightmares.

Harry stepped into the Quantum Leap Accelerator, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Where was he? Why was everything so dark? What happened to him?

It took for a while for Harry to remember the reason why he was so confused – he had just jumped back in time to try and save Sirius from dying. So, the big question was: was he still Harry, or someone else entirely? He better find a mirror somewhere to figure it out.

Harry stood up, seeing a large mirror on the opposite wall. Was it just coincidence, or was it a side effect from the Quantum Leap that would allow him to see himself for who he was? Harry wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to pass the chance. Time to face the music then.

Well. This wasn’t quite what he had expected. How the hell he was supposed to save Sirius from dying as Vincent bloody Crabbe? Just his luck. Crabbe wasn’t even at the Ministry when the battle was on… wait a second.

Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy had been part of the Inquisitorial Squad - and they had reported straight to Umbridge. So… if he, as Crabbe, told Umbridge he had “overheard Potter and his friends talking about going to the Ministry” he might be able to have Umbridge to stop then-Harry and everyone else from going to the Ministry in the first place. And if he didn’t go to the Ministry, then Sirius wouldn’t be there either. And if Sirius weren’t at the Ministry battling with Bellatrix then he wouldn’t die there. That… might actually work. Although all that thinking about all the ifs and thens was making his head hurt.

“Crabbe, you useless idiot! Where have you wandered off again? Get your lazy ass here, Professor Umbridge wants to see us!” Malfoy shouted somewhere in the distance.

This was his chance. It was now or never. “Coming! It’s Potter’s fault, I think he’s planning something!”

It was surprisingly easy to convince Umbridge that then-Harry was up to something she wasn’t going to like. Then again, she was quite biased back then and hadn’t exactly like Harry or what he had to say about Voldemort, so it really shouldn’t have been a surprise at all. Crabbe-Harry watched with anticipation when then-Harry was escorted in Umbridge’s office, along with then-Ron and then-Hermione. Had it been enough? Had he been able to save Sirius? All of a sudden Crabbe-Harry felt a tug in his body, and soon everything turned dark.

* * *

“Harry! Harry! Wake up! We have to go now!”

Sirius. He was alive, so Harry had succeeded in his mission. For the first time in years Harry felt truly happy - he had Sirius by his side again and everything was going to be fine.

Harry opened his eyes, expecting to see Sirius healthy and in good spirits again, but what he saw was a shock. If possible, Sirius was even more gaunt and unkempt then he had been when he had escaped from Azkaban. His cheeks were hollow, and his clothes were nothing but rags.

“Wha- what happened to you? Where is everyone else? I thought… that everything was going to be alright!” Harry exclaimed, shocked. This was not how it should be!

“There is no one else, Harry, no one. It’s just the two of us, have been for some time. Don’t you remember?” Sirius asked, clearly concerned.

“But… we won the war, right? I destroyed the Horcruxes and Voldemort died! It was almost ten years ago!” Harry shouted.

“Oh Harry, you have been hallucinating again. You really should take your potions to keep focused, we can’t afford the Death Eaters catching us. I know you took it pretty hard when Ron and Hermione were killed the night Snape murdered Dumbledore and Slughorn, but…”

“Ron and Hermione are dead? No! You’re lying! This is not how the things should be!” Harry knew he was starting to sound hysterical, but he didn’t care. This had to be some kind of a mistake, it had to be. He had saved Sirius from dying, so why everything had changed?

“Look, just take your potions and stop talking about the Horcruxes or whatever they are called. Everybody knows that you can’t kill Voldemort, no matter what you try. Just let it be, Harry, let it be. It’s useless.” Sirius sighed, looking much older than his years. 

Harry buried his face under his pillow, crying uncontrollably. What had he done? Had he ruined everything just to get rid of the guilt about Sirius’ death? No…

“Shh, don’t cry. Take this, it will help.” Sirius offered Harry a vial filled with brown, murky potion. Harry gulped the contents in one go, and soon he couldn’t feel anything anymore. He couldn’t remember why he had been so upset in the first place - it was only a dream he had, about how they had won the war and his friends were still alive. Silly things, dreams. If only he could travel back in time and change it all...


End file.
